How many mg of epinephrine are present in one cartridge of a 1:100,000 dilution?

• A. 0.018 mg
• B. 0.01 mg
• C. 0.02 mg
• D. 0.1 mg

Answer: (A)

In a 1:100,000 dilution of epinephrine, this means that there is one part of epinephrine for every 100,000 parts of solution. A common dental cartridge contains 1.8 mL of solution. To find the amount of epinephrine in a cartridge, you can calculate as follows:

First, convert the 1:100,000 dilution into a practical measurement. In this case, if you have 1 mL of a 1:100,000 solution, it contains 0.01 mg of epinephrine (since 1 gram equals 1,000 mg, 1 mL of solution with a concentration of 0.01 mg/mL will contain 0.01 mg).

Now, since one cartridge is typically 1.8 mL, you would multiply the concentration by the volume of the solution in the cartridge:

0.01 mg/mL × 1.8 mL = 0.018 mg of epinephrine.

Thus, a standard cartridge of a 1:100,000 epinephrine solution contains approximately 0.018 mg of epinephrine, making the correct answer accurate.